One game past the halfway point of the Atlantic 10 Conference race, Saint Louis found itself in second place after winning its last two games through Feb. 5.
The Billikens were just a half-game back of Temple, which had played only eight league games to Saint Louis' nine.
That's the good news.
The (slightly) bad news was that three other teams had matched the Billikens' 6-3 league record, which means there is little room for error down the stretch as the Billikens vie for one of the four byes in the conference tournament.
"I think the league has tremendous parity, and there are a lot of difficult places to play," coach Rick Majerus said. "There are exceptional coaches.
"I think the thing that is most indicative of how good the league is is that there are probably 25 viable candidates for the first team all-league.
"Each weekend you got a guy coming in and you're facing a guy, minimally, if not two or three guys, that are outstanding players.
"So when you have equity among personnel and you have good coaches and teams that have played difficult schedules, it's a toxic mix."
The Billikens, who improved to 18-5 overall with their 58-50 win at home over Dayton on Feb. 4, will be in Philadelphia for their next two games, taking on Saint Joseph's on Feb. 8 and La Salle on Feb. 11.
After that, they get three of their last five at home, including a date with Xavier.
Free-throw shooting remains a mystery for Saint Louis. The Billikens were only 18-of-31 (58.1 percent) from the stripe in the Feb. 4 win over Dayton after going 26-of-31 (83.9 percent) against St. Bonaventure in the game before.
And in the game before that, against Massachusetts on Jan. 2, the Billikens were only 9-for-19 (47.4 percent).
For the season, the Billikens had hit a respectable 70 percent, not great but still pretty good, through 23 games. In nine conference games, the mark was 67.5 percent, which is mediocre.
"I don't have any idea," coach Rick Majerus said when asked where the inconsistency was coming from. "We practice the same every week."
Junior G Kwamain Mitchell had more turnovers (five) than assists (four) against Dayton, just the second time that had happened this season. He had only two assists and four turnovers against Vermont back on Dec. 7.
Mitchell had the same number of assists and turnovers in a game in three games. Six times in 23 games, he made it through a game without a turnover.
Through games of Feb. 4, the Billikens had one player in the top 15 in the A-10 in scoring and one in rebounding.
Senior F Brian Conklin (14.2 ppg) was No. 14 in scoring. Sophomore F Dwayne Evans (8.2 rpg) was tied for fourth in rebounding.
63.0 -- Saint Louis held its first nine A-10 foes to an average of just 63 points a game. Those opponents include four of the top five scoring teams in the league: Massachusetts, Temple, Dayton, and Xavier.
"Spoonhour was a great guy, great coach, terrific competitor. Authenticity and genuineness were his trademark. He really cared about his players as people." -- Coach Rick Majerus, on former Saint Louis coach Charlie Spoonhour, who died Feb. 1 at age 72.
at Saint Joseph's, Feb. 8
The Hawks' backcourt duo of Carl Jones and Langston Galloway can be difficult to handle. Jones is more consistent and seems to have recovered from the ankle injury that kept him out of one game and slowed him in others. Galloway can go for 30 or 10, depending on the night.
at La Salle Feb. 11
The Explorers start four guards and like to keep the defensiveness intensity up. Senior G Earl Pettis is their most consistent scorer, averaging over 17 points a game in conference play through Feb. 5. He and Ramon Galloway will test the Billikens on the perimeter.
Injured F Brian Conklin was back in the lineup against St. Bonaventure and Dayton after not starting against Massachusetts, but senior G Kyle Cassity had come off the bench for two games after starting the first 21. Sophomore G Mike McCall started against the Bonnies and Flyers after serving as a reserve the first 20.
Sophomore F Dwayne Evans just missed a double-double against Dayton when he scored only nine points to go with his 10 rebounds.
Junior F Cody Ellis came off the bench and scored 10 points against Dayton after getting blanked the previous game against St. Bonaventure.
